Lady in Red
by Zarlune
Summary: Sakura's heart breaks during a party, but a dance from someone who's been there for her for years makes her see that sometimes love's been there all along. [Songfic] [KakaSaku, SasuIno]


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

The lyrics in Italics are not mine either. They're from Eric Clapton's song "Lady In Red"

* * *

**Lady in Red**

Sakura stepped into the Uchiha manor and for the first time it seemed as though the house had some sort of life in it. Flowers, fresh from the Yamanaka Flower Shop filled the corners of the room in every color imaginable. Enough food to feed an army was laid out on a series of tables at the back of the room, and the bar was fully stocked. Sasuke had not forgotten a thing. The pink-haired ninja stopped right inside of the doorway, amazed at the transformation that she was witnessing. It was almost as drastic as the transformation in Sasuke himself.

People milled around, talking, laughing, and dancing as they ate and drank, every one of them wondering the same thing... What did Sasuke want to announce? The ANBU ninja had left four years ago to track down the Akatsuki and to complete his goal of killing his brother. He returned just last year and it was a surprise to everyone when he invited them to his house for an important announcement.

_ I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight  
I've never seen you shine so bright _

Kakashi was in the middle of talking to Gai and it was by mere chance that he looked up in time to see her entrance. He had watched Sakura grow from the young, fanciful girl to the beautiful and skilled young woman she was now. It gave him a sort of pride to know that he had helped her in that transformation. It was so easy to forget that she was now a woman of 19, especially when she laughed, or when she got into her verbal arguments with Ino, but tonight, there could not have been any doubt that she was definitely a woman now, and not the young girl of 12 that he had always seen her as.

She was wearing a short red dress, the hem of it barely brushing over the top of her knees. The neckline was low, revealing the most tantalizing hint of cleavage. Mere straps held the top of the dress up, and seemed to beg to be allowed to slide down her tanned shoulders. She had grown out her hair, and a lock of it had escaped the complicated knot to brush over her cheek. In a word, she was beautiful. It was all that he could do to keep from following her with his eyes and to concentrate on Gai's words.

_ I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance  
They're looking for a little romance  
Given half a chance _

She seemed to flow, instead of walk, into the room, every movement an enjoyable motion to witness. Unaware of the stares that she was getting, Sakura made her way into the party, stopping to say hello to people she knew as she passed. Genma appeared at her side, his eyes raking over her body, the smile on his face letting her know that he appreciated what he saw. "You look stunning, Sakura."

Sakura smiled at the compliment, "Thank you, Genma. Have you seen Sasuke?" She raised herself up as much as she dared to in her heels and scanned the crowd, looking for the dark haired young man.

"Sasuke? Yeah. He was back in the kitchen with Ino. They were getting some more food to put out... But Sakura --"

"Thank you." She said, cutting him off as she stepped to the side of him, moving towards the kitchen, "I'll just go and say 'hi' to him real quick, before I forget." Sakura walked away from Genma, not bothering to listen to the rest of his comment.

Time and time again she was approached, sometimes to be complimented, and other times to be asked to dance, and she declined nicely, saying that she needed to speak to Sasuke first, and then she'd be happy to dance. Standing at the doorway to the kitchen, the pink-haired kunoichi patted her hair lightly. 'Hopefully it's not mussed from my walk.' she thought to herself as she pushed her way into the kitchen. She wanted to look her best.

The kitchen was large and bright. At once her gaze was caught by the back of the man that she had been in love with for years. "Hi Sasu--" She said cheerfully, trailing off when she realized what she had walked in on.

Sasuke turned around, the blond haired Ino still in his arms. Her eyes were half closed and her lips swollen, as though she had recently been thoroughly kissed, and indeed she had.

Sakura stared at the sight of Ino in Sasuke's arms, and it felt as though her heart was breaking. Some of the pain must have been apparent in her face, for Sasuke released Ino from his arms and tried to smile at his former teammate. "Sakura." He said, his voice roughened slightly, "Thank you for coming. You look beautiful."

Sakura ignored Sasuke for the time being, her eyes filling with tears as she stared at Ino, "Ino..?"

"I'm sorry Sakura. It happened so fast, we meant to tell you about it." A glimmer of light caught her hand, and Sakura found her eyes drawn to a ring on the blonde's hand. "We're announcing our engagement tonight... that's the reason for the party."

"I... I... have to go." Sakura stumbled out of the kitchen, tears blinding her as she tried to find a place to crawl into so she could curl up and die. She could hear someone laughing behind her, and it sent a shiver up her spine... she was sure they were laughing at her, whomever it was.

_ And I've never seen that dress you're wearing  
Or that highlights in your hair  
That catch your eyes  
I have been blind _

Kakashi was watching as Sakura entered the kitchen, and when she exited just a few moments later, he knew what she had seen. Ino and Sasuke had formed a special bond soon after he returned to the village, and nearly everyone knew about it. He guessed they just assumed that Sakura did too.

Sliding between people, the masked ninja made his way towards the pink haired kunoichi, appearing at her side in time to catch her arm to keep her from falling. Leaning down slightly to whisper in her ear, he spoke, "I'll help you find a place to sit." Sakura nodded, still trying to fight back the tears that threatened to fall, and it was all Kakashi could do to keep from wiping the stray ones off of her cheeks. Draping one arm over her slim waist protectively, the Copy Ninja lead her to a lone chair in the corner and helped her sit. He left her alone just long enough to go and get them both a cup of punch. Crouching down, he handed her the punch, glaring at anyone who came too close.

"Sasuke... He's... Ino..." Tears were falling freely now as Sakura gripped the punch and she turned her face away from him so that he couldn't see her cry.

"I know Sakura. If I would have thought about it, I would have realized that you didn't know. You've been so busy lately, helping Tsunade train the newest batch of medic nins." He could almost kick himself for not realizing that she was clueless sooner. The little red dress should have given him the first clue. Of course she was wearing it for Sasuke, who else would she wear it for?

Sniffling, Sakura sipped the punch and then wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand. She wasn't wearing any makeup so she didn't have to worry about smearing it. "It's ok. I think Genma was trying to warn me when I walked in."

Kakashi dragged another chair over to their corner and the two of them sat there for hours, talking about the new medics, or about Kakashi's new team. Sometimes they talked about the old days, but every time Sasuke's name came up, Sakura's eyes would fill with tears again, forcing Kakashi to try his best to keep the conversation on the now, and occasionally Naruto's many crazy episodes. This seemed to be the right thing to do for after a while Sakura began smiling faintly and once or twice she even laughed outright.

After quite a few cups of the strong punch, Sakura began to cry again, "Damn it all. I wore this dress just for him, spent the entire day getting ready and look at me, bawling like a baby and I haven't even had a single dance yet!"

He knew he was going off into dangerous territory even as he stood, moving in front of her. Gently Kakashi took the punch glass from Sakura's grasp, laying it on his chair before taking her hands in his own and pulling her up to stand close to him. He placed her hands on his shoulders and draped his own on her hips.

"Wha... What are you doing Kakashi?" Sakura asked, the thought of pulling away from him never occurring to her.

"Dancing with you."

_ The lady in red is dancing with me  
Cheek to cheek  
There's nobody here  
It's just you and me  
It's where I wanna be  
But I hardly know this beauty by my side  
I'll never forget the way you look tonight _

Sakura sighed gently and gave into the feeling of his body close to hers. She curled her arms around his neck, pressing against him as she closed her eyes. The skin of her cheek brushed against his mask as she melted against him, moving in time with the music.

Kakashi knew the exact second that she stopped thinking of Sasuke. The fabric of her dress was soft under his hands and it amazed him how small and frail seeming she was, but looks were deceiving. She had faced countless dangers since she had become a ninja, and had stood tall through all of them.

The scent of cherry blossoms surrounded him, making him think of sunshine and warm summer days. Tilting his face down, he took in a deep breath of her scent, filling himself with it. He had never planned for anything like this to happen, and if anyone would have told him that he would be dancing with Sakura in his arms, in the middle of a gathering where anyone could see them, he would have laughed. But here he is, in the middle of Sasuke's engagement party, Sakura's body against his, the smell of her shampoo and perfume surrounding him. And scary enough, he wasn't sure if he wanted this moment to end.

Soon, much too soon, the song ended and Kakashi forced himself to let the young woman go. Sakura stared up at him for a long moment, a soft smile on her face. Without warning, she rest her hands on his shoulders and lifted herself up to place a soft kiss over his lips. "Thank you." She whispered.

Kakashi said nothing as he lead her back to their chairs. He spent the rest of the night by her side.

_ I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight  
I've never seen you shine so bright you were amazing _

Time passed. Days turned into weeks and weeks into months and gradually Sakura came to realize that time heals all wounds, including bruised and battered hearts. Brushing out her long hair, the kunoichi watched herself in the mirror. She had come to realize that she had never seen Sasuke happier than he was with Ino, and while that knowledge tore at her heart, she could honestly say that she wished them well. Kakashi was part of the reason why she was able to let go of her feelings for Sasuke. Ever since the engagement party, she had come to rely on the silver haired ninja. The first weeks especially were torture. She would be fine for a while and the would suddenly break down. And Kakashi was always there.

It took her until now to realize that he'd always been there. Any time that she needed him, he was there for her, unquestioning, unrelenting. She had taken it all for granted, seen right through him on her path to winning Sasuke's love and it wasn't until now, that she realized that she no longer wanted Sasuke's attention, but Kakashi's. When that had started, she didn't know. Perhaps it was the dance that had caused this change in emotion, or perhaps it went back further, and it was just the dance that made her realize the truth.

All the years that Sasuke had been gone, it was Kakashi who had helped her get through her Chuunin and then Jounin exams. Kakashi had visited her when she had to be hospitalized due to injuries after her missions, even though he hated hospitals. Kakashi was there to congratulate her when she had completed the learning needed to become a medic nin, and Kakashi was the one to dance with her, on the night that her world had fell apart.

"Oh dear god. I love him." Sakura whispered to the mirror, brush still in her hand.

Later that night, she found him up by the memorial, where he spent most of his free time. The ninja had his back to her, and was lost in thought enough for the kunoichi to walk up behind him and watch for a long moment.

Kakashi knew she was there, but stayed still, waiting to see what she would do. Still, it took him by surprise when she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek between his shoulder blades.

She felt Kakashi move to turn and shook her head. Speaking in a voice so soft that he had to almost strain to hear it, she closed her eyes. "No. Please Kakashi, I want to tell you something first." He stopped, his hands moving to rest over hers lightly. "I... I think I love you. I think I have for a while... only I never realized it. I was too busy chasing after a childhood dream to realize that what I wanted was right here all along. And I don't know if you feel the same way, but I had to tell you. I love you Kakashi."

_ I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side  
And when you turned to me and smiled it took my breath away  
And I have never had such a feeling such a feeling  
Of complete and utter love, as I do tonight _

Sakura was tense, waiting for his response. His hands moved and she loosened her grip enough to let him turn around, sure that her heart was going to be broken once again. Her eyes were closed when Kakashi brushed his fingers against her cheek. "Sakura..." he whispered, brushing his thumb over her lips gently, making her eyes flutter open at the contact. Gently he took her wrists in his hands, lifting them up to drop a kiss in each palm through his mask before moving them to the edges of the blue-black mask.

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was telling her. Slim fingers curled under the edge of the mask and she slowly pulled it down off of his face, staring unabashedly at his youthful, and handsome face. Kakashi saw the admiration in her gaze and smiled at her, a crooked grin that made his whole face light up.

"Kakashi..." Sakura whispered, leaning up to kiss his lips. He captured her lips with his own and pulled her to him, his arms wrapping around her, promising without a word to shield her from harm.

_ The lady in red is dancing with me  
Cheek to cheek  
There's nobody here  
It's just you and me  
It's where I wanna be  
But I hardly know this beauty by my side  
I'll never forget the way you look tonight _

She took him to her appartment and he was both surprised and pleased when he heard that he was the only man that she had brought home like this. There was a pleasant tension in the air as she poured them both a glass of wine, finding as she brought the wine into the living room, that he had removed his mask and headband. She was wearing red again this evening, a pretty scoop-necked red shirt and black pants and it brought to mind the night that all of this was set in motion, and the dazzling picture she made in the short red dress. Curling up on the couch, they talked, cherishing the nearness and the comfort that they found in each other. Standing, Kakashi set down his wine glass and looked down at her, the look in his eyes unmistakable. His beautiful lips turned up into a smile as he pulled her up into his arms.

Sakura draped her arms around his neck as his hands found her waist. Laughing softly she rested against him, pressing her cheek against his as she asked, "What are you doing, Kakashi?"

"Dancing with you."

_ I never will forget the way you look tonight  
The lady in red  
My lady in red  
I love you _


End file.
